New Briefs September 2023
The Best Exercise for Longevity
National Institutes of Health guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes (or two-and-a-half hours) of moderate exercise each week. But which exercise is best? A team researchers posed this question to older adults and analyzed data from more than 250,000 participants in a national survey. People answered questions about their participation in seven different recreational activities, including running or jogging, swimming, racquet sports, golf, cycling, walking, and other aerobic exercise. Participants were first surveyed in the 1990s. Their average age was 70 when they responded to the last survey. The researchers examined the risk of death during the 12-year study and compared how different levels and types of physical activity lowered that risk. Older adults who got the recommended amount of activity had a 13% lower risk of death compared with those who were inactive. Playing racket sports or running showed the greatest risk reductions, but all activities provided benefit. According to the lead study author, the most important thing inactive older adults can do to improve their health is to find an activity that they enjoy and can stick with. Consistency matters more than any particular exercise done inconsistently. The study appeared in JAMA Network Open.
Try Nature, the Natural Antihypertensive
The Japanese call it “forest bathing.” We call it “enjoying the great outdoors.” By any name, being outside in nature is a great stress reliever. Various studies have found that exposure to nature is beneficial for cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental health. These studies rarely involve medications prescribed for a particular illness, but that’s what Finnish researchers did in the latest study on the healthful benefits of nature. They took four major health issues in Finland—mental health, insomnia, hypertension, and asthma—and investigated whether the percentage of blue or green space within 300 meters from an individual’s residence, such as views of blue and green spaces from their windows or frequency of visiting blue or green spaces during the warm months, had an impact on the use of medications for these health issues. The researchers found that the amount of green and blue spaces around the residence and looking at green and blue spaces from the windows had no effect on medication use for any of the conditions. However, the frequency of actually being outdoors in green spaces was associated with reduced medication use for hypertension, as well as for the other conditions that were assessed. The more times a week the person spent outdoors in green spaces, the less medication they used. The study appeared in BMJ Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Two Procedures Help Golfers/Racket Sports Players Resume Play
Two studies presented at the 2023 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting found that patients who had shoulder arthroplasty could return to play golf or racket sports within six months to one year, experiencing significantly decreased pain as well as maintained or improved performance. Both studies examined the return to racket sports or golf after total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) or reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Each year, 53,000 Americans have shoulder arthroplasty, including TSA and RSA. This may be due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, a rotator cuff tear, or a severe fracture. TSA replaces damaged parts of the bone with an implant. RSA is a newer type of surgery that is generally reserved for people with severe rotator cuff tears and prior shoulder replacements that need revision. It involves replacing the damaged or arthritic shoulder joint with a prosthetic implant that reverses the normal ball-and-socket configuration of the shoulder joint. One study looked at 69 recreational golfers who underwent one of the two types of shoulder replacement. Of the patients, 47 underwent TSA (average age 66) and 22 RSA (average age 71). Time to return to play was similar: 49% of those who had TSA were playing golf within six months and 85% within one year, compared with 59% and 91% respectively for those who had RSA. Golf performance improved or stayed the same, with more than 90% reporting increased enjoyment of the game. In addition to positive outcomes for golfers, results from these joint replacement procedures were similar for those who played tennis, pickleball, and racquetball.
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